Blair article seeks to allay fears of the Arab world
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tony Blair has made a direct appeal to the Arab world, assuring it that British forces are not fighting "a war of conquest but of liberation" and will leave Iraq "as soon as practicable".
In an article published in several Arab newspapers, the Prime Minister claimed "history will judge that we made the right choice" over Iraq.
His call to Middle Eastern peoples is part of the propaganda battle being fought by coalition forces.
The Government is concerned by the lack of backing in the Arab world for the war on Iraq and accusations that America and Britain are planning to occupy the country after toppling Saddam Hussein's regime. Mr Blair said his quarrel was "not with the Iraqi people but with Saddam, his sons, and his barbarous regime which has brought misery and terror to their country".
"I recognise that the Iraqi people have been the biggest victims of Saddam's rule. This is not a war of conquest but of liberation," he said.
Mr Blair said coalition forces were doing "all that is humanly possible to minimise civilian casualties and finish this campaign quickly", but admitted that "mistakes will be made" and military conflict "always leads to the loss of civilian lives".
The Prime Minister said there "has been no rush to conflict" and Britain and America "had hoped that military action could be avoided".
He said going to war was "a hard and difficult decision", but he believed it would "make the Middle East and the wider world a safer place". Mr Blair insisted that Britain was not in favour of military government.
The article, published on 29 March, follows reports of young Arab men travelling to Iraq to fight for the Iraqi regime.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments